The following article was written by Zahra Husein who completed her graduate practicum in Applied Social Psychology with the Re-Storying Autism in Education partnership under the supervision of CESI’s Manager of Community Engaged Teaching and Learning in the Summer of 2023.
Poojan Joshi is a Masters Candidate in Applied Social Psychology at the University of Guelph.
Written by Jemma Llewellyn, with contributions from Caroline Duvieusart-Déry
This blog post was written by Jemma Llewellyn, a PhD student in Critical Studies in Improvisation and CESI’s Knowledge Mobilization Assistant. Over the Winter 2023, Jemma organized and co-facilitated Researchers for Change, a pilot project which brought together graduate students for informal learning and connection around topics of community engagement, collaboration and creativity in research. This piece gathers some of her thoughts and take-aways from her participation in this initiative.
Community-engaged research bridges the gap between community and university and can have significant benefits for community partners and students alike. Recent research by Karen Nelson, Kendra Schnarr and Dr. Elizabeth Jackson examined a range of these benefits (and some challenges) through a case study of the impacts of CESI’s Research Shop.
Tanja Samardzic is in the final stages of completing a Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology at the University of Guelph. Tanja is an applied researcher who uses mixed methods to answer important questions concerning topics like gender-based violence and women’s health. Under the supervision of Dr. Paula Barata, her dissertation has explored young women’s experiences with expectations of how they “should” be in their intimate relationships (e.g., quiet, nice) and how they navigate relationships, especially when their partners are abusive.
This blog post was written by Emily Mowat, former CESI Accessibility Assistant. Her work on a variety of accessibility projects has contributed to expanding CESI’s understanding and practices around accessibility – especially as they relate to documents and written products. We continue to build on Emily’s work and knowledge as we move forward and work to create and share knowledge, information and events that are accessible for all.
This blog post was written by student researchers from the Research Shop. Below, they reflect on managing their own care while working on projects with potentially sensitive and intense subject matter. Their work on this project and reflections throughout fact have expanded our understanding and practices of care in the research context at CESI. We will build on this work as we move forward and actively work to create a workplace culture that is humane, accessible, and enabling for all.
In the Winter semester of 2020, fourth-year International Development student Emily Kerr took part in the experiential learning course, IDEV*3300: Engaging in Development Practice. The course is a prerequisite for students in International Development and aims to help them gain workplace skills that will be useful in the development sector. This blog post offers an inside look into Emily’s experiences during the course and her reflections on what the course did for her personally, academically and professionally.
In September of 2019, the Research Shop partnered with Community Living Guelph Wellington to assess the impact of their Campus Friends (CF) program. Following a mentorship-style format, CF connects University of Guelph student volunteers (mentors) with adults who have a developmental disability (students), providing them with an opportunity to experience campus life.
Aarabhi Rajendiran is a PhD Candidate in Public Health and is working on evaluating a population health intervention that aims to help bridge the gap in access to health and social services amongst children and families in Guelph, Ontario. At the Research Shop, Aarabhi is a Project Manager who has worked with community organizations in Guelph and the surrounding Wellington Region to conduct evaluations of programs and youth need assessments in rural communities.